Hurt flickered across Keelie’s features followed by…nothing. She shut down right before me, her face rearranging into a neutral expression as she stared at something over my shoulder.
“I guess you’re already getting one,” she said, her tone quiet. She hesitated for the briefest of moments before she turned on her heel and fled.
“Keelie,” I called, racing after her. “It’s not what it looks like…”
She whipped open the garage door and headed toward her car. “Itrustedyou.”
I charged after her, but she made it to her car, where she slammed the door. I pressed my hands to the cool glass of her window as she started the ignition.
“Keelie, listen to me—”
I leaped back, her tires barely missing the toes of my sneakers. I gripped my hair, my elbows pressed together in front of my face as I watched her car speed out of my driveway. “Dammit,” I yelled. “Shit. Shit.Shit!”
I dropped my hands to my knees and panted, but my heart continued to tumble and crack.
“Mac?” Shannon’s hand rested on my shoulder, rubbing.
I whirled to face her. “Do you see what you’ve done? She’sgone.”
“I hate that she found out about us getting back together like that, but now—”
“There is no us,” I screamed. I stepped back, hands fisted, chest heaving. “You threw us away.”
“No, I didn’t. I…I took a pause.”
There was no way Shannon believed the garbage tumbling from her mouth, not even if my mother put the ideas in her head.
“I’ve been without you for years, Shannon! You left me because your career mattered more than my dream of kids and grandkids.”
“That’s not fair!” Indignation caused color to bloom across her sculpted cheekbones. She was beautiful, but…hard. Elegant and perfect and not the woman I wanted.
“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows. “So I misheard you all those years ago?”
“No, but I was young. I wanted my own career.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. “Are you saying you’d be willing to move to Houston, to start over with your practice, build it up again? What if I get traded, eh? Are you going to want to go to another state, get licensed there? What does that do to your judicial aspirations?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “You’re thirty-one. You won’t be playing much longer…”
I snorted, somewhere between offended and impressed with her selfish view of the world. “You’re still thinking about you andonlyyou. And for the record, I signed a new five-year contract. After my years as a player are over, I plan to coach. That’s just like being a player. I may have to move to get a better position, go to a better team.”
She blinked at me. “You…you’re staying in hockey?”
“Always. I love it. It’s my passion.”
“But…” She sank down onto the steps, her legs giving out. “But you could come home. Raise our son. Take him to hockey practice, coachhisteam.” She peered up at me, hope in her eyes.
“While you get your judgeship and rub elbows with judicial scholars? Spend nights at soirees and talk with big words no one outside of your circle knows, let alone understands? No, I don’t want that. Ineverwanted that.”
She slumped further. “Oh my God…Ireallymessed up.” She scrubbed her hands over her face. “I planned it all out. I just assumed…”
I remained quiet, letting her process the absolute end of us.
“I’m sorry, Mac,” Shannon said, her eyes filled with tears. “I…I didn’t think about what you wanted or needed. Again. Maybe always. I’m so sorry.”
I speared my fingers through my hair, which was longer now—I never cut it or my beard once we got this close to the playoffs. Sure, it was a superstition, but in my twelve years in the league, I’d had many more wins than losses. No reason to rock the boat.
“You’re right, you didn’t, and now Keelie’s hurt. She’s freaking out. She’s definitely hating on me.”
